Electric vehicle owners and would-be owners are being encouraged to apply for two new subsidies to make the purchase and charging of the vehicles (EVs) more affordable.
Announced by Treasurer Rob Lucas, the first incentive is a $3,000 subsidy to be available for 7,000 eligible new battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles registered in South Australia from 28 October 2021, with applications now open via the Department of Treasury and Finance website.
Mr Lucas said local motorists who may have ordered a new eligible battery electric vehicle prior to that date but were still waiting for delivery – and therefore, had not registered the vehicle yet – would still be able to apply for the subsidy.
“There will be a price cap of $68,750 (inc GST) to provide an incentive to bring lower-priced electric vehicles to the market and avoid subsidising expensive electric vehicles,” Mr Lucas said.
Announced by the Minister for Energy and Mining, Dan van Holst Pellekaan, the second incentive is a new EV smart charging subsidy for South Australian households.
Mr van Holst Pellekaan said that over the next four years, 7,500 subsidies of up to $2,000 would be available to households, with new or existing plug-in EVs investing in smart-charging solutions that monitored and responded to household and electricity network events.
“Encouraging electric vehicle owners to install smart chargers in their homes is good for the individual car owner, good for the environment and will drive down average household electricity bills,” he said.
“Independent modelling projects cost savings for all households of $95 to $324 in 2030 if EV uptake is accelerated and smart charging is embraced by electric vehicle owners.”
The Minister said the scheme was designed to integrate the growing electricity demand of electric vehicles into South Australia’s electricity system.
“Under the scheme, existing and new electric vehicle households will be able to access up to $2,000 to install an EV charger that aligns charging to times when household and Statewide electricity demand is low, making for an even more stable and affordable electricity grid,” he said.
“A stable grid with an abundance of renewable energy from wind and solar, coupled with further capacity to store energy in the form of electric vehicles is projected to reduce power prices to benefit the whole community,” Mr van Holst Pellekaan said.
The Department of Treasury and Finance’s Incentives for electric vehicles can be accessed at this PS News link.
